Prayer of the Jinchūriki
by notgonnasay09
Summary: Little did everyone at the Konoha Orphanage realize that Kami listens to the prayers of all children. The Leaf Village will never be the same when the Yellow Flash and the Bloody Red Habenaro come back from the Shinigami's grasp.
1. Chapter 1: The Neglected Pray While Kami

Prayer of the Jinchūriki

Chapter 1: The Neglected Pray While Kami Cries

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any aspect of his universe.**_

_**Secondary Disclaimer: Welcome to my third multi-chapter work of fan fiction. Before we start, I just wanted to point one thing out; this chapter will include some spirituality, but in a minimal form and for right now, only for this first chapter. If this is not something you can stand, then I apologize, but it is the only way I can get this to work. I also apologize to anyone who does not follow Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; I worked with the names and attributes of God that I was aware of as a Christian, so for those who are atheistic, Hindu, Buddhist, or any other religion or lack thereof that I may have forgotten, sorry for not representing you.**_

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The quiet calm of the summer evening gave a semblance of security for the citizens of Konohagakure no Sato, both citizen and ninja alike. For many, the uneventful evening brought a feeling of calm that had been desperately needed in the five hectic years since the attack of the Kyūbi no Yōko. Between the attack, the rebuilding, a botch attempt at a kidnapping of the Hyūga heiress, it was nights such as these, with only the wind blowing calmly through the streets, that gave a calming effect to everyone. Well, it gave a calming effect to everyone but one lone orphan.

A young blond child by the name of Naruto Uzumaki was sitting in his room in the attic of the orphanage. His disheveled blond hair was slightly matted with grime from working to clean the kitchen today. His hand-me-down clothes, which were in good enough condition to cover his frame, but not nearly enough to keep him warm, were covered in dirt and appeared to have been dirty for some time. In fact, there was nothing that the blond "owned" – that is to say the only things the owners of the orphanage ever gave him – that was brand new or for him alone. Not one toy, article of clothing, or even a scrap of food was for him alone. Naruto knew the reason for that; he wasn't special enough. Things like ownership and possessions were lost on Naruto; he never did anything good enough to earn having anything of his own. If someone needed something, it would be taken from Naruto first.

Naruto was like a walking example of never having enough. He was given enough food so that he would not starve to death, which usually consisted of a half a loaf of bread and mineral broth for some nutrients, but he was not given enough to stop the sounds in his stomach protesting for more food. He was given enough cover from the weather to not be killed by the elements, but not enough to keep him warm – he could not fully remember the last time he felt truly warm. He was never given any presents, and if he managed to get any money by chance or out of pity from some small child that had gotten it from who knows where, he would have to use it to pay for his mistakes, whether it be from accidentally bumping into someone so that they waste their food for his mistake or for not getting the clothes as clean as his caretakers wanted. He did many chores, but never got praise for it; it was his lot in life, and he accepted it. Naruto never received acknowledgement for his existence.

People of all ages would always ignore Naruto; he learned that early on in life. No matter how cold, hungry, scared, or alone he felt, people ignored him. At first, he thought they were just being mean. After a while, he realized it was just because he was who he was. There were only two people that ever even knew Naruto was there. First, there was the elderly man in the red and white robes. Once a month, usually, the kind older gentleman would take him for a walk to the park and listen to some stories about his career as a shinobi. The man even offered to take Naruto to a small food stand in town, but Naruto always declined like a good boy should; the man didn't need to waste his money on him when he had other people to take care of.

The only other person to even talk to Naruto was a young caretaker at the orphanage. She had medium-length brown hair, wore a pair of glasses that looked worn, but not overly so, and walked with a cane despite her age due to a flaw in her leg that never quite corrected itself. She was never able to stay for long, but she would teach Naruto a few basics, like how to read and write. He knew it would not do him any good, since he had nothing to read and nothing to write on, but at least she seemed to recognize that he was still alive. Sometimes, he would pretend that she actually cared about him, but he would soon shrug it off; it was her job to make sure all of the kids were alive at the end of the day, so why would he be special in that regard?

Naruto tried to act like a good boy. Whenever any of the adults came to the orphanage to pick kids out for adoption, Naruto went into the attic so that the "special children" – those that were worthy of being adopted, unlike him – could be adopted without having to worry about him running the potential parents off. He did everything that was asked of him to do. He never complained and always gave what he had. If someone told him to work until he dropped, he quietly nodded and went to work. The only thing that Naruto could see that he did wrong was that he was selfish. For you see, there was one dream that he could never let go of no matter how hard he tried. There was one thing that Naruto wanted above all else: a family to call his own. No matter how hard he tried, he could not stamp out the desire to be like some of the other kids. Just once, he wanted to see what it was like to have a dad that would give him a piggy-back ride, or a mom that would smile at him and be genuine about how she felt. But, he knew that would never happen. No one wanted someone like him.

The only thing he could not understand was why he was so unloved. Was he ugly? He knew that having blond hair was rare in Konoha, and he tried to wash the whisker-like marks off of his cheeks many times before, but he could never get them to come off no matter how often he scrubbed. Maybe it had something to do with how small he was. It wasn't his fault that he was short and skinny; he was born that way. Perhaps he wasn't smart enough, or cool enough, or fast enough. Ultimately, he came to one conclusion; he just wasn't special enough to be loved. If he wanted to be comforted, he only had himself, so night after night he would hug his knees and cry for himself, even though he knew that he was lucky; at least he didn't live on the street like some unfortunate souls.

Naruto was staring off into the nighttime. After yet another insignificant day in his life, Naruto knew he had only one thing left to do before he would sit on his bed and wait for sleep to take him; he found it difficult to go to sleep even after everyone else had gone to bed. He walked over to the windowsill, got on his knees, looked to the stars, and prayed. Now, he was not exactly religious; frankly, he didn't know what a religion was. But, he heard one of his caretakers explain to another child about someone called Kami. Apparently, Kami was someone that lived beyond the sight of mere mortals. Kami created the universe apparently and listened to the prayers of people. Naruto thought that, maybe if he prayed enough and did enough good things, and then maybe Kami would humor someone like Naruto and at least tell him what he was doing wrong so that he could maybe have someone pay attention to him someday. Naruto looked skywards and began a prayer that he seemed to have said numerous times before, but it was one of the only hopes he had left in his short life.

"Kami-sama, it's me, Naruto again. I know I must be bad for praying this much and wasting your time, but I don't know what is wrong with me. I…I try to do what everyone tells me to do; I stopped trying to look for attention that no one will give me, and I do everything I can to be a good boy. I just don't know what I am doing wrong. Am I being selfish because I want a family? If I am, can you send someone to tell me that I am not wanted anywhere? I know I am not worthy of you sending someone to talk to me, but can I see a sign, please? Or, if it is not too much trouble, can I have a family? I know I am being selfish, but I…I just want to know what that is like, to have one. I know it is selfish of me to ask that of someone as important as you to answer my prayer, but I just can't help it. If it is within your power, all I ask is for a way to know if I will ever be special enough to have my dream come true."

After Naruto said his prayer, he crawled up onto his small bed, on top of his overused sheets, and folded his arms over his legs while resting his head on his knees. He didn't have a clock, but he had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

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Unbeknownst to Naruto, Kami had been listening to each and every prayer that Naruto had sent, and every time Kami heard Naruto's prayer, he couldn't help but weep. Kami was known by many names to many people in many realms. Some called him Yahweh, some called him Allah, and some called him The Great "I AM" or "The Lord." He could take any form and his messengers could appear to anyone as anything; sometimes, they appeared as prophets, sometimes as guardian angels, and many others in other forms. One aspect that remained true no matter what however was this; Kami hated to see the suffering of children. He may have given his creations free will, but he hated to see when the very beings he created treated someone so young with so much indifference and neglect. It was Kami's hope that someone, anyone, would come by and help to answer this young child's prayer, but that was not going to happen. Kami finally grew tired of listening to the prayer of this lone and brokenhearted child, who had been scorned by the very people whose lives he protected every day he was alive. Kami finally decided to do something about it.

"**Shinigami, come forth!" **Kami commanded. At once, a barely humanoid apparition appeared in front of Kami before solidifying itself. The figure wore a long white robe, hiding its sickly purple skin. Its head looked like that of a demon, with a mane of wild white hair with two horns sticking out of its head. The specter's face was hideous; eyes black as pitch with irises white as snow and pupils that could gaze into the very soul of a person, a mouth with rows of razor-sharp teeth, and a knife held inside the mouth which was used to cut at a person's soul. Tired around its clawed, grisly hands was a string of rosary beads.

"**You called for me, Kami-sama?" **The Shinigami asked.

"**Yes, I am in need of two souls that are in your possession, Shinigami. More specifically, I need two souls that are currently residing inside your stomach."**

The Shinigami gave a cold stare to Kami. **"The souls that are in my possession are mine to keep. The humans that are sealed within me are mine to keep for all eternity to fight in my stomach. That is the deal set out by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."**

Just as the Shinigami finished its sentence, Kami grabbed the "God of Death" by the neck and lifted it up to his eye level. Between the glare given by Kami with an authority that could only be managed by the Creator of Reality and the tightening grip around its throat made the Shinigami begin gasping for air despite not needing to breath.

"**Let us get one thing straight, Shinigami. Your job is to ferry the souls of the departed to their final resting place and to hold the souls that are given to you until I say otherwise. It is ultimately I who has power over life and death, and not you. It is I who tells you when it is time for someone to pass, and ultimately it is I that will decide to use the souls that you have as I see fit. Do not forget your place!" **After that declaration, Kami released his grip on the Shinigami as it unceremoniously dropped to the ground.

Rubbing its sore neck and resisting the urge to grumble, the Shinigami responded. **"As you command, Kami-sama. Which two souls are you in need of?"**

"**I require the souls of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze." **The Shinigami looked indifferent to the request as it phased its grisly hand into its stomach and pulled out two souls. Each soul looked like a piece of tissue paper in the cut-out shape of a human.

Kami then grabbed the two souls and sent the Shinigami away before turning his attention to the souls he had. **"The two of you are needed once again on Earth. I have listened to the prayers of your child for the past five years, and I have wept at the circumstances of his life. It is my hope that, with a family that will love him and nurture him that he will be able to become the man he is destined to be. Now, go and save your child from the nightmarish hell that has become his life." **With that, the two souls disappeared in two separate columns of light and headed straight for Earth.

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Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting behind his desk at the Hokage Tower. Currently, it was a quarter past eight in the evening, and he was filling out paperwork, which had become the bane of his existence. Taking a break from the never-ending pile of forms, mission reports, and other forms of paperwork, Hiruzen gazed upon the village and began to think of one Naruto Uzumaki, and how the aging Hokage felt that he had wronged the boy in the most horrid way possible.

No matter how Hiruzen looked at it, he knew that he had not done right by Naruto. When he was born, he was supposed to be seen as a hero in the eyes of the village. After all, Naruto's very existence was the sole reason that the village was still standing instead of being a burning pile of ash at the hands of the Kyūbi no Yōko. His predecessor/successor, Minato Namikaze, had given his life, his family, and his very soul to make sure that the village would remain safe. All he asked in return was to have his son, Naruto, to be seen as a hero. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

The people of the village did not see a child when they saw Naruto. All they could see was the monster that was responsible for the death and destruction in the village five years ago. However, rather than being openly hostile towards him, the villagers did something even crueler; they ignored his very existence. Hiruzen could tell that the boy was neglected. Naruto was overly polite, never asked for anything, resisted any attempts for outside help claiming that he "wasn't important enough," and showed many other signs that he was not treated well enough. Despite all of this, without anyone vouching for Naruto and reporting any of this, Hiruzen could do nothing out of fear that any form of close association with Naruto might undermine his authority.

True, Hiruzen did try to interact with Naruto on a more consistent basis, but the thrice damned paperwork and his job as Hokage kept him from being able to do more for Naruto. Hiruzen knew that was a pathetic excuse, but he had little choice. He simply didn't command as much respect as he did in his youth, even though he was still fairly well respected. All he could do was hope that Naruto could find someone to fill the void that Hiruzen knew he could never fully fill, no matter how much he wanted to fill it.

He was brought out of his musings when he saw what appeared to be two streaks of light in the night sky falling and landing inside the village in two distinct areas. One appeared to hit the forehead of the Yondaime Hokage and the other landed somewhere in or near the cemetery. Immediately following the unknown phenomenon, two male ANBU captains appeared and kneeled before their commanding officer. One wore the mask of a snake, the other of a dog.

"Hebi, Inu, report."

"Hokage-sama, we have received word of two unidentified energy sources descending upon the Konoha Cemetery and the Tomb of the Yondaime Hokage. No damage has yet to be reported, and we have yet to identify the phenomenon. There doesn't appear to be an immediate threat. We have no more information at this time," Hebi responded.

Hiruzen turned towards Inu and Hebi. "Can we confirm what those phenomenons were at this time?"

Inu responded this time. "Not at this time, Hokage-sama. All we can gather so far was that they were some form of energy, but they did not behave like chakra or any other known form of energy. However, most of our ANBU felt a pressure similar to high amounts of chakra, so that energy might be related, but we cannot confirm that."

Hiruzen considered the initial report. An unknown form of energy descended upon his village that behaved similarly but differently from chakra hitting a tomb of one of the most influential shinobi of the village and the cemetery. Hiruzen had a gut feeling that something big was about to happen, but couldn't put his finger on what that might be.

"I want one squad each sent to the tomb and the cemetery. I want to know just what in the bloody hell is going on here, immediately!" The two ANBU members nodded before leaving in a swirl of leaves to gather their teams together to investigate the sites.

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The first thing Minato Namikaze noted when he awoke was that he was alive, and apparently on a slab inside some sort of cave while still being in the uniform that he wore the night of his victory over the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. That was not supposed to be the case; his last memory was of performing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to defeat the Kyūbi no Yōko and glancing down at his newborn son. He knew full well that using the seal would take his soul, but he had confidence that his son would be treated well. Yes, he knew that once Naruto found out about the Fox and his connection to it, that there was a possibility that he would be treated differently, but he did leave him in the capable hands of his sensei and his remaining student.

In spite of all this, Minato was worried. _'What in the world is going on here? I should be in the Shinigami's stomach, not on a slab in some cave. I need to see what is going on here!'_

Minato lifted himself off of the slab, surprised that he wasn't stiff as a board, and proceeded to run to what he thought was the entrance. Well, he attempted to run, but his legs failed him and he fell onto his side.

"Note to self: When you don't know how long it has been since you last used your legs, walk before you run," Minato muttered to himself. As soon as he was able to get used to supporting his weight again and was able to walk around, he attempted to run again, this time more successfully. He followed the corridor that was in place, climbing the staircase at a faster and faster rate. When he reached the top, he looked out of the opening he was in to see the rest of the village he had sworn to protect. In order to get a better sense of what was going on, he pushed some chakra into his feet to climb "his" head and look out from atop what he could only conclude was the Hokage Monument.

Minato was, for lack of better terms, baffled. From his vantage point, the village seemed almost untouched. Not one building seemed to be in disarray; the signs of destruction that Minato had seen were gone. It was as if the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had never occurred. In contrast, Minato could clearly see where there was a new growth of trees beyond the walls of the village, around what he knew was the site of the Fox's rampage. It was a massive contradiction that only led to one of two conclusions: either Minato had been brought back to life, or he had fallen asleep and the Kyūbi attack was nothing more than a nightmare.

Immediately dismissing the latter, Minato could not believe what was going on. Before he could continue to ponder the unique situation he was in, a squad of ANBU surrounded him. Minato counted four shinobi: One was wearing a tiger mask, one a bull, one a turtle, and what he thought was the captain in a dog mask. The one in the dog mask caught Minato's attention immediately due to the gravity-defying gray hair. He knew of only one individual with that kind of hair. The masked shinobi confirmed this when he began to speak while unsheathing his ninjatō.

"Who are you, and why are you impersonating the late Yondaime Hokage?" The masked shinobi asked with a drop of venom and some killing intent being added to indicate how serious the man was.

"What are you talking about, Kakashi? I _am _the Yondaime. Remember, your sensei Minato?" Minato seemed slightly confused. Did his own student really think that he was an imposter?

Kakashi quickly answered Minato's question. "I will ask again: Why are you impersonating Minato Namikaze? You have five seconds to respond, otherwise we will use whatever force necessary to subdue you." Kakashi was growing irritated with whoever this was who dared insult the memory of his sensei by impersonating him.

Minato knew he had to act fast. He was surrounded by a hardened ANBU squadron with his former student believing he was a fake. Using the Hiraishin no Jutsu was out of the question; currently, he did not have any of his tri-pronged kunai in his possession. That left the Rasengan. He knew that would prove his identity. Acting quickly, Minato gathered chakra into his hands and began to mold it into his signature A-ranked technique. He hoped that no one else outside of Kakashi and Jiriaya, his sensei, had known how to perform the technique.

Upon seeing the technique that his sensei was famous for, Kakashi dropped his weapon. There were only three people he knew of that could perform that technique. One was gallivanting around Hi no Kuni looking for inspiration for his next best seller, and Kakashi himself could perform the technique even though he preferred to use his own original technique, the Lightning Cutter. That left only one other individual that could pull off that specific jutsu.

"M-m-minato-sensei?" Kakashi stated as he removed his mask to show his awe-stricken face, which was covered with a cloth facemask and a Konoha hitai-ate covering his left eye. He knew for a fact that this was not supposed to be possible. He had been around at the time of the Kyūbi's rampage. He knew for a fact that they had buried the Fourth Hokage of Konoha inside one of the most guarded tombs in the whole country. He saw the body. So, how was this possible? How could his dead sensei be alive and well standing in front of him with his signature technique?

Minato gave a small grin to his student. "I know you must have a lot of questions, believe me so do I. Unfortunately, I don't have any answers right now. There is a lot of questions that I need answered, and right now only the reigning Hokage can give those to us. How about if we pay whoever is in charge a visit, eh?"

"Um…sure, but for the record, sensei, the Sandaime Hokage took over for you after your…um, demise?"

Minato gave a chuckle before him and Kakashi, along with the stunned trio of ANBU under Kakashi's command, leapt to the Hokage's office. As they made their way there, they felt a spike in chakra close to the cemetery. The signature was recognizable to both Minato and Kakashi.

Kakashi turned to his sensei. "Sensei, you don't think-"

"That I was the only one that seems to be defying the laws of life and death tonight? Nope," Minato answered before chuckling to himself in a half-sad, half-humorous sort of way. "I would say that the Red Hot-Blooded Habañero might have also gotten a wake-up call."

This was confirmed when what two ninjas were seen flying away from the direction of the cemetery, the only discernable words being "red," "angry," and "woman." A shiver went down both men's spines, knowing full well just who was probably behind the aided flight of those two saps.

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When Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze first opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of dozens upon dozens of urns set in rows on shelves, each with the label of one person's name or another. Right away, she could conclude that she was probably in the crematorium at the Konoha Cemetery. There were, however, three questions that immediately came to mind after she deduced where she was:

1. What was she doing inside a building full of ashes in Konoha?

2. Where was her son or husband?

3. Why in the world was she as naked as the day she was born?

She could deduce the first answer; she was supposed to be dead, so maybe her remains had been here, but that didn't explain why she wasn't a pile of ash. Upon realizing that she had died, she began to remember about the night she gave birth to her son, as well as what happened shortly afterwards. She couldn't help but remember what happened next; a man she assumed was an Uchiha by his eyes had came in, forced her to release the seal that contained the Kyūbi no Yōko, and with the last of her strength, she infused some of her "special chakras" into the seal that Minato had prepared in order to stop the Kyūbi. As for the last question, the only answer she could come up with, as incredulous as it was, was that she had somehow been brought back from the dead and that, somehow, resurrections did not create clothing for the deceased. She wanted to cry, but right now she needed to find out what was going on, and more importantly to see who survived the Kyūbi no Yōko's onslaught.

Just as she was going to find something to cover herself with, she heard someone asking if she was alright. She turned around to see three male ANBU in full uniform staring at her. From what she could gather, the masks were of a _baku_, a monkey, and a snake. She could tell they were male by their build. She noticed that she could feel their gazes directly on her, and being a woman currently without clothes, she did what came natural to her…

"PERVERTS!" She sent two of the elite ninja flying through the roof with her hair flowing around her in a wild fashion, looking like she had activated a Celestial Gate. The last ANBU, who appeared to be the captain if the white cloak he was wearing was any indication, was sweating bullets as Kushina stalked towards him, cracking her knuckles to show that he was in for the beating of his life.

Fifteen minutes later, Yūgao Uzuki, the last member of the team that was sent to investigate what was going on, saw a woman walk out wearing a pair of black pants and shirt that were obviously not meant for her. Earlier, she was going to help her teammates, but the cry of "PERVERTS," had made the fifteen year old ANBU think twice. This was confirmed to be a wise decision when her two teammates were sent flying, crying about some scary red woman or something like that. Assuming that this woman was the one they were sent to investigate, Yūgao had drawn the conclusion that this woman was responsible for taking out her two teammates and, unless she missed her guess, her team captain. She took a defensive stance against the woman and attempted to sound more confident than she felt right now.

"H-hault! State your business, ma'am!"

Kushina turned to the young ANBU with a thoughtful look. "Look, kid, I'm sorry if I scared you, but I don't respond all that well to perverts who gawk at a naked woman's body. Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you, 'ttebane."

Yūgao contemplated things for a moment before relaxing. "I apologize, ma'am. I am simply doing my job."

"I know, and don't worry, I won't attack you. By the way, please don't call me 'ma'am,' it makes me feel old. Please, call me Kushina."

"Hai, ma…I mean, Kushina-san. So, is there a reason that you were in the crematorium?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I may need to speak with Hokage-sama. Something tells me that he may hold more answers for me than I can give you. Is that acceptable?"

Yūgao gave a nod and began to lead the red-haired woman to the Hokage Tower, unaware of what had now transpired and of the gears that have been set in motion…

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**Author's Notes: OK, so this is the first chapter of my third multi-chapter story. I have had a lot of plot bunnies recently, and this was one of them. I have had this in mind after reading a few fics where Naruto's parents were brought back from the living. After reading some of these, I decided to take a swing at it, along with a few other genres later on in other fics.**

**One of the biggest things that I wanted to have that would somewhat separate this fic from others would be the aspect of neglect. For those that weren't able to figure the extent of how neglected Naruto was, it can be summarized like this: He was given enough of everything to make sure that he would be alive the next morning, but not nearly enough to leave him content. He was given virtually no attention by anyone, was only taught the basics of reading and writing, and now suffers from a massive superiority complex, feeling that he is not important enough to have what other children would be given automatically. **

**I know this makes things a little more unusual, but as far as I can tell, we have seen plenty of fics with either Naruto being abused and neglected or purely abused. It is rare to see a fic where he is purely neglected, which would fit in better with his canon past than a past with him getting beaten every day. I don't know all that much about neglect, but I hope I have done a decent job so far.**

**As for Minato and Kushina, I tried to portray them similarly to how they now are in canon – the reveal of Kushina in Chapters 498 and 499 have kinda messed with my image of Kushina in **_**For the Sake of One **_**– so I hope I did them justice. Rest assured we will be seeing some parental righteous fury shortly, of that you can be assured.**

**As for pairings, this will probably be one of my first attempts at having Naruto with multiple women. No, it will not be a harem; it will be with two women, with the final two being either Hinata and Karui or Hinata and Ino, although I am open on the other girl. For me, I have found that I enjoy and do well when writing about Naruto and Hinata, so I will stick with what I know I can write fairly well for now.**

**By the way, in case anyone asks, Hebi is not Anko; this ANBU is male.**

**Well, I will see how this goes and post accordingly. Until next time, Ja ne!**

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_**Definitions:**_

_**Hebi: Snake**_

_**Inu: Dog**_

_**Baku: Japanese mythological chimera with parts in common with an elephant, a rhinoceros, an ox, and a tiger. Danzō has the ability to summon one. The Baku resembles a tapir.**_

_**Shinigami: Death God**_

_**Kami: God or Shinto spirit**_

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Please Read and Review.


	2. Chapter 2: The Place Where He Belongs

Prayer of the Jinchūriki

Chapter 2: The Place Where He Belongs

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The plot would probably be more contrived if I did.**_

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Whatever Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi, the Professor, and the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato had been expecting when his ANBU had returned with their investigations, the sight before him was not it. Standing before him was his immediate predecessor and immediate successor, Minato Namikaze. He was still dressed in the same garb that Hiruzen had last seen him in five years ago when he was buried, which included a Jōnin uniform, flak jacket and white coat with the kanji for "Fourth Hokage" written on the back. It was as if Hiruzen was looking at a ghost.

"Minato-san, is that you?" Yes, even the Hokage had a hard time believing his eyes when he saw The Yellow Flash of Konoha.

"I get the feeling that I will be getting that a lot lately. Yes, it is me, Sarutobi-sama. I could prove it to you, if you wish."

"No, that will not be necessary. I trust Kakashi-san's judgment. If he says you are you, I am inclined to trust him. Although I am curious as to how you could be alive when you were sent to the Shinigami's belly…"

Minato shrugged. "I wish I could tell you, honestly. All I remember is the sealing. The next thing you know, I'm waking up on a stone slab inside the Monument."

Hiruzen considered this. As far as he was aware, there was no way of retrieving a soul from the belly of the Death God. The technique Summoning: Impure World Resurrection was out; the technique would have required a sacrifice of a body and would still have to work around the problem of the Shinigami. A transformation was out of the question; no one could fake using a Rasengan, if what Kakashi said was accurate. If the evidence was coupled with the fact of the empty room that stored the body, the only conclusion that could be drawn from all of this was that the Yondaime had been revived by a force greater than the Shinigami. As illogical as that sounded to the Professor, it was the only answer that made sense.

"As radical as this may sound, the only conclusion that I can draw, Minato-san, is that this was an act of Kami, or at the very least, of a power greater than the Shinigami."

Kakashi was stunned. "Are you trying to say…"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, this was clearly an intervention by Kami-sama. As for what reason, I am not sure. There simply is no way that I am aware of to explain this otherwise. In layman's terms, this can only be described as a miracle."

Everyone else in the room was stunned. Even in the ninja world, very rarely would anything ever be described as a miracle. Almost anything that happened could be explained, whether by means of a jutsu, a seal, or some natural phenomenon. For someone like Hiruzen, who had seen and done most everything that was possible to do, to say that something was a miracle was a wake-up call that showed that even the most brilliant of minds didn't have all the answers.

Just as that particular revelation had settled in, two women entered the Hokage's office. One was the purple-haired female ANBU Yūgao Uzuki. At her side was a red-haired beauty wearing what appeared to be a male ANBU member's uniform, minus the armor. She was immediately recognized as the last survivor from Uzu no Kuni and wife of Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze. Kakashi had assumed it was her at the cemetery, but to see her in person was a little overwhelming; he not only had his sensei, but his sensei's wife back in his life. For Hiruzen, he was tempted to recheck his tobacco to make sure that he had the right kind and that it wasn't laced with some form of hallucinogen. The other ANBU remembered seeing two of their comrades go flying and decided not to take any unnecessary actions, lest they take a one-way ticket out of Konoha.

Minato couldn't contain his happiness. He remembered how he found her dying soon after the seal had been released and she had donated her chakra for the seal, and how devastated he felt with the possibility that Naruto might grow up alone. Seeing the love of his life, standing before him as radiant and stunning as the day he married her. Even her smile brought back memories of happier and simpler times, and days where the biggest problem was deciding what color to paint the nursery for their unborn child. Minato went to hug his wife, but wasn't exactly expecting the response he got.

"Minato, YOU BAKA!" Just as soon as Kushina saw Minato in the Hokage's office, she immediately punched him straight in the face. "That was for leaving your pregnant wife unprotected!" She then gave a weaker punch while she was attempting to hold back tears. "That was for using a seal that cost us our souls! And this…" Just as everyone thought that she was going to put Minato back into the grave, she embraced him, laying her head on his shoulder. "This is for leaving me alone in the afterlife while you were fighting inside the Shinigami." She quietly began to sob on his shoulder as tears of joy, frustration, and grief began to flow down her cheeks. Even though her chakra had been used for part of the seal, she was still separated in a different part of the Shinigami's stomach. For the past five years, she had not even been able to see her beloved. Minato simply continued to hold the love of his life, trying to make up for lost time.

It was Hiruzen who decided to break the rather touching reunion. "I don't mean to be rude, Kushina-chan, but do you have an idea of how you are here? Somehow, Minato was also brought back to us, but your body had been cremated once we found you."

Kushina blinked. "I honestly don't know. I woke up in the crematorium surrounded by ANBU. The last thing I remember before that was holding my son and-" Kushina's eyes widened in recognition. "NARUTO! What happened to my son!" Kushina was almost in hysterics before Minato calmed her down.

"Don't worry, Kushina-koi. I'm sure Naruto is fine. Who knows, maybe Jiriaya-sensei is trying to use him to meet some women," Minato said with a chuckle. "Am I right, Sarutobi-sama?" Minato had begun to chuckle before noticing that the room had gotten deathly quiet. The reunited couple had turned to see Kakashi staring at the floor with a look of regret written on his hidden face and a look on the Hokage's face that seemed to show his true age, complete with tired eyes that reflected the aging soul within.

"Ushi, Neko, Tora and Kappa, the four of you are dismissed. I would suggest going to find Saru, Hebi, and Baku. They may or may not need medical attention." The Hokage dismissed them and the four ANBU members disappeared. Hiruzen then turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, if you would be so kind as to retrieve Naruto and bring him here, I would appreciate it."

Kakashi turned towards his superior. "Do you wish for me to get him here quickly, or do you want me to take my time?" Kakashi wasn't planning on being late like he usually was for meetings, but he had a feeling that the Sandaime might need some time alone with Kushina and Minato.

Hiruzen knew what Kakashi was implying and was grateful that he asked. "Just take your time, Kakashi. I have a feeling I may be a little while. I will have to catch these two up on certain events, so just take your time. Try to bring him back, well…" Hiruzen looked at the clock, which read 8:30, "Try to bring him here at a quarter after nine. That should be enough time to explain what is going on and catch these two up on current events." Kakashi nodded and leapt out of the Hokage's window.

As soon as Kakashi left, Hiruzen turned back towards Minato and Kushina. He rested his chin on his hands as he placed his elbows on the table, his hat almost overshadowing his features. As he gazed to the two parents in the room, he took note of the worried look on both of their faces, mixed with anxiety. It was Minato that decided to speak on behalf of the couple.

"Hiruzen, what is going on? Where is our son?" Minato was unsettled. He made his plan known to everyone that needed to know beforehand, and he told Hiruzen that Jiriaya was to take care of Naruto if something were to happen to him and Kushina as his godfather. Minato also was the one that reinstated Hiruzen as his final act as Hokage, and it was Minato's dying wish that Naruto be seen as a hero. Minato thought that was fairly clear. Had something happened?

"What I have to tell the two of you I know will be upsetting, but I will have to ask for minimal interruptions. It will be hard enough as is to tell you what has been going on without being interrupted. Can I trust that the two of you will allow me to do that much?"

"Just, tell us about our son, Sarutobi-sama. Please!" Kushina pleaded.

Hiruzen heaved a sigh, hoping to alleviate some of the tension that had developed in his mind. "I suppose I should start at the beginning…"

"As you can tell from the fact that the village is still standing, the sealing was a complete success. The Fox was defeated and successfully sealed into Naruto. Unfortunately, things began to start going downhill shortly afterwards. Two days after the rampage, we received reports from one of our patrols that stated that Iwagakure no Sato and the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales, sent a squad to inspect Konoha and assess our ability to defend ourselves after the attack by the Kyūbi. We eliminated the squad, but Jiriaya and I agreed early on that it would be for the best at the time not to reveal Naruto's heritage. We knew that word would eventually spread of your demise, Minato; if word ever got out that you had a son, Naruto would have had a larger target on his back than what was already painted on due to his tenant. Shortly after we decided on a course of action, Jiriaya left the village to maintain his spy network in the hopes that he would be able to return and train Naruto when he reached the rank of genin and would be able to fight for himself."

"After we took care of the Iwa patrol, I convened an emergency meeting consisting of the clan heads, the heads of all the village departments, and my advisors, who represented the interests of both the civilians and the rest of the population here in Konoha. I described what happened the night of the attack to everyone. At first, there were a few individuals that called for his death, mostly in some of the smaller departments within the ninja ranks. After those individuals were dealt with, Jiriaya and I calmly explained to everyone the function of the seal you used to the best of our collective knowledge. Any further protests for his death were quickly suppressed. Regrettably, this lead to a new argument led by my former teammates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, as well as my former rival, Danzō Shimura. Homura and Koharu were wary of allowing Naruto to continue to be in the village out of a fear that he might make Konoha an even larger target for the other nations due to his status as a jinchūriki. However, they quickly agreed with Danzō, after he suggested that it would be in our best interests to enroll Naruto in an early shinobi training program. I quickly saw that it was an attempt to turn Naruto into a weapon-"

"Like hell they would turn my son into a mindless killing machine like the other jinchūriki! I'd sooner be burned alive by Amaterasu's flames before that would happen, 'ttebane!" Kushina declared. Being the former jinchūriki of the Fox made Kushina a little more sensitive to the plight of all demon containers. Thankfully, Minato managed to calm her down somewhat in order to allow Hiruzen to finish. Although, Minato had to admit that he was also on the edge of doing something drastic.

Hiruzen let Kushina finish her outburst before continuing. "As I was saying, they attempted to turn him into a weapon, but I quickly stamped that idea out. I knew that neither one of you would want that for Naruto. There were also offers to take Naruto into some of the other clans, but I worried that giving a clan power over him might lead to trouble later, so I had to decline those requests. In the end, I set up a decree that no one was to speak of his identity as a jinchūriki to anyone who was not around or able to remember the Kyūbi's attack. However, I suspect that someone might have leaked his status to the village anyway. Thankfully, no one dared to attack Naruto, even though most held resentment for containing the very beast that took away so many lives…" Hiruzen took pause after saying this. It was as if he was having a difficult time bringing himself to say what was on his mind.

Minato saw through this quickly and asked the question that was plaguing his mind. "Hiruzen, what happened to our son? You said that he wasn't attacked, so I assume that is a good thing, right?"

Hiruzen looked upon Minato with saddened orbs that held years of heartache. "I cannot lie to either of you, what they did to Naruto was far crueler."

"When word got out about what Naruto had become, he was shunned by the rest of the village. No one except for me as far as I am aware of even acknowledge his existence. Because Jiriaya was out of the village, and Kakashi was too young and was too involved with ANBU to take care of a child, Naruto was dumped off at the orphanage. I cannot be absolutely sure, but I highly suspect he was severely neglected by his caretakers. I suspect that he was neglected in the hopes that he would either run away from the village, or that he would simply 'fade out of existence' like a bad memory. He is overly polite, suffers from an inferiority complex, and probably has many emotional scars. I know I should have taken better care of him, but bureaucratic red tape and my work as Hokage keep me from being a predominate figure in his life. Granted, I have been able to see him on occasion and have offered many times to try and get him to come with me to Ichiraku Ramen with me, but every time I offer he tells me, and I quote, 'You don't need to waste your money on someone as unimportant as me. I'm sure you got plenty of people that you could spend that money on.' I can only begin to imagine what sort of garbage they have been filling his mind with." Hiruzen finished and took a look up to see the faces of his predecessor/successor and his wife.

Kushina didn't know whether to stomp out of that office and finish what the Kyūbi started or to break down and cry. It was one thing to hear of a child being abused or neglected; it was another to hear that the child you gave birth to, the very child you gave your life to protect, was not only shunned by the whole of your surrogate home, but was told that his existence was meaningless, that he was unworthy of even the most basic of necessities or offers of kindness, was infuriating. She hoped that someone would have a heart and take care of Naruto, but apparently the hatred of the Fox ran deeper than the respect of a dying man's last wish, even one as honored as Minato.

Minato, on the other hand, appeared calm, but held within him what could only be described as parental fury. He had sacrificed his life, his family, and everything he had to save the village and the only thing he asked for in return was that his son be seen as a hero for carrying the burden of being the prison of the Demon Fox. Instead, they spit on his memory and put his child through the kind of emotional pain that no one should ever have to go through. Yes, he knew that they didn't _know _that Naruto was his son, but that still didn't excuse the behavior of the village as a whole. If he was any less of a man, he would have taken his son and wife, left Konoha to burn, and join a village like Suna or Kumo. At least they would have had more respect for Minato and his family.

Hiruzen attempted to apologize for his failure. "Minato-san, I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am for all of this. I know I am not much better than the villagers and I can understand if you won't forgive me-"

To Hiruzen's surprise, Minato held his hand up before slightly softening his features. "Hiruzen, I don't blame you for what has happened to my son. If anyone is at fault here, it is the village. All that I asked was that Naruto be seen as a hero instead of the monster he imprisons, and yet they could not even manage that." Minato walked over to the window behind Hiruzen. "Did any of the clans try to help Naruto after they offered to adopt him?"

"Regrettably, I am not entirely sure anyone saw him once he was in the orphanage. I know that I would have an ANBU give me a quick analysis of what he or she was able to observe whenever they saw Naruto during their patrols around the village, but I am unaware of anyone who was able to interact with him and I am fairly certain that he never left the orphanage to explore the town. He probably didn't want to leave the only home he had ever known."

Minato looked out towards his home. He grew up here; this was where he was raised, where he became a ninja and later Hokage, it is where he met his Crimson Whirlpool and where he planned to raise his family. When had his home become so intolerant of the sufferings of others? When had his village become a place where a mere child was blamed for a burden he was never asked to carry? Where was the Will of Fire that separated Konoha from the other villages? Right now, his mind was telling him to grab his son and run, but his heart told him that doing so wouldn't change what happened, nor would it change the fact that the people would see him as a monster. Minato knew that, no matter how distasteful it may seem to him, the only way for Naruto to be able to heal from the childhood hell he had suffered would be to have him be accepted by the village.

"Hiruzen, I have a favor to ask…"

"Yes, Minato-san, what do you need?" Hiruzen asked hopefully.

Minato was silent for a moment, as if reaffirming his decision in his own mind before steeling himself. "As soon as I get settled, I wish to retake my position as Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato."

It was Kushina to speak first. "Are you out of your mind? Minato-kun, I know you love this village, and I love you more than I love my salt ramen, but if you think for one second that I am going to let Naruto continue to live in the place that tortured him, then you-"

"Kushina!" She was stunned by the tone, which didn't go unnoticed by Minato. "I'm sorry for yelling, Kushina-koi, but I know exactly what you are about to say, and I agree with you one-hundred percent. If I thought it would help Naruto, I would leave this Kami-forsaken village and let it be burned by the next group of missing-nin that decided to attack it. That being said, I don't think it would help Naruto if we were to take him away, the treatment he received will forever be justified in his heart. Naruto is the way he is because he has been told that he is not worth anything. If he is to ever heal, he will need to gain the acceptance of this village. In other words, he will have to prove himself in the eyes of the village that told him he had not worth."

While it pained the two of them, Kushina and Minato knew that what he said made sense. If Naruto was ever going to be able to heal from this experience, than Naruto would have to gain the acceptance of others. Seeing their resolve to stay, Minato and Kushina continued to listen to Hiruzen as he recounted of major events that Minato and Kushina had missed in their absence.

* * *

Atsuko was beginning her rounds. One of her jobs during her nights at the Konoha Orphanage was to make sure that the children were in their rooms. Her brown hair was tied back in a braided ponytail. Her glasses, which looked like they were in need of some serious cleaning, would peer into each room to check to make sure that the child that was assigned there was still there. She was fairly young, in her early twenties, but she had to walk with a cane due to a birth defect she had that made one leg weaker than the other. There was not much the medical ninjas at the hospital could do, so she opted to use a cane. Not that it would matter much; being a caretaker at an orphanage didn't exactly pay very high, and if she needed to pay for medical bills, something had to give.

After checking on the other children, she began to make her way to the attic to check up on Naruto Uzumaki. Atsuko had been around during the Kyūbi attack, but she had a hard time believing Naruto was a monster. She had never married, and was born and raised a civilian. She heard rumors about what Naruto was, but outside of the birth marks on his cheeks, she couldn't see how one child was the reincarnation of a monster that could create tsunamis and cause earthquakes. She tried her best to be able to help Naruto when she could, but more often than not, her boss who owned the orphanage would tell her that she would lose her job if she did anything other than what was absolutely necessary to ensure that Naruto wouldn't die in the night. She almost lost her job when they found out that she had been teaching him to read and write. It broke her heart, but all she could do without losing her livelihood was to do what she was told and hope someone would save Naruto from his nightmare.

Her musings were interrupted by a knock at the front door. Ordinarily, potential parents or people with orphans would come by during the daylight hours. Only ninja would appear at night, as far as she knew. Sure enough, when she opened the door, one of the Hokage's ANBU was standing outside of the door.

"Hello, ANBU-san. What can I do for you this evening?" Atsuko asked in a whisper. She didn't want to run the risk that someone might hear her.

"Actually, Hokage-sama has asked to see Naruto. Is he still awake?" the silver-haired ANBU asked.

"I believe so, although I haven't checked up on him yet. Why, is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing like that. The Hokage simply wishes to talk to Naruto. Do you need any help, miss…"

"Atsuko, ANBU-san, and no I will be fine. May I ask if he will be returned tonight?"

"I am not sure, but my guess will be that he will not. If you want, I may be able to arrange a meeting with Naruto tomorrow. I am sure Hokage-sama would not mind." Kakashi had a feeling that this woman cared about Naruto, and he also had a feeling that his sensei might want to talk with this woman.

"I would like that. I will be right back." Atsuko then turned around and walked up the stairs to the attic. She knocked on the door before walking in. Sitting on the bed in front of her was Naruto. It broke her heart to see Naruto like this, curled up on his bed feeling lower than the dirt underneath his feet. To see a mere child reduced to this made Atsuko wonder if she was in the right line of work if she would allow someone like Naruto to suffer like this. She decided to shake his shoulder to see if he was still awake.

"Naruto, are you awake?"

Naruto opened his eyes to see Atsuko. "Hello, Atsuko-san. Did you come to see if I was asleep?"

"Actually, I came to see if you were awake. One of the Hokage's ANBU is here to take you to see him."

'_Why would the Hokage want to see someone like me? Is this going to be Kami's way of showing what I did wrong?' _Naruto thought. "Alright…although I don't really have anything appropriate to wear in front of the Hokage."

Atsuko gave a sad smile. "I'm sure he won't mind, Naruto. I'm not sure when you will be returning, so the ANBU offered to let me come see you tomorrow, okay?" Naruto gave a nod in recognition and was escorted by the ANBU to the Hokage.

* * *

Kakashi led Naruto inside Hiruzen's office. When Naruto first entered, he was greeted by the sight of the Hokage in his standard attire and two other individuals. The first was a man with blond hair and blue eyes in a white coat and ninja uniform. Naruto had seen a ninja's uniform before because some of the potential parents that had walked into the orphanage were in uniform. The other was a beautiful woman with red hair and violet eyes in a black shirt and pants. She might have been a shinobi, but the uniform she was wearing wasn't exactly fitting her right.

Hiruzen saw Naruto enter and tried to put on a smile for the lad. "Ah, Naruto, how are you tonight?"

Naruto gave a respectful bow. "Just fine, Hokage-sama…Um, is there a reason I am here, Hokage-sama?"

"Well, Naruto, I wished to introduce you to two very important people. Do you remember some of the stories I told you about the Fourth Hokage?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. You told me he was seen as a hero in the village for stopping the Kyūbi no Yōko." Naruto then got a good look at the man in the room. "Is this man related to the Fourth?"

Hiruzen took a gulp of air, trying to attempt to be delicate. "Naruto, do you believe in miracles?"

"Of course Hokage-sama," Naruto responded, "even though they never happen to someone as ordinary as me, I believe that miracles can happen."

"Well, as hard as this may be to believe, Naruto, this _is _the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze. They were somehow brought back from the dead."

Minato and Kushina were trying to figure out how Naruto was taking that in so far. They were expecting a smile or some kind of similar reaction to show shock or awe, but they ended up receiving a look of confusion. This made them curious until Naruto began to speak.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but why am I here then? Aren't there other, more important people that need to know that he and his wife are alive? I'm sure I am not one of the people that needed to know about this first…" Naruto spoke, looking puzzled as to why he was here in the first place.

Hiruzen decided to drop the bombshell. "Actually, Naruto, you are the person I needed to tell first because these two, one being one of the most respected people in the village, are your parents…"

Minato and Kushina were expecting many reactions; happiness at having a family, anger for abandoning him, or even for Naruto to faint due to shock. What they didn't expect was what they received; disbelief.

Naruto looked down and began to deny what the Professor just told him. "That can't be right, Hokage-sama. I am not special enough to have a family, let alone to have someone that Kami-sama thought needed to be brought back from the dead as my parents. Besides, I'm too ugly, stupid, slow, and ordinary for anyone to want me…"

Minato and Kushina couldn't take it; hearing Naruto degrade himself like that was the final straw. Minato was first to react and hold Naruto close. Naruto froze in Minato's grip, unfamiliar with the close contact. The closest he ever came to having close contact with anyone was if someone decided to ruffle his hair.

"Y-y-yondaime-sama, w-what are you doing?" Naruto sputtered out.

Minato just held him close. "I'm hugging my son, what does it look like I am doing, Naruto?" Naruto tried to spit out a denial, but a finger on his lips stopped him. "Listen to me; what the Hokage said was true. I am your dad, and this is your mom Kushina. We're sorry we left, Naruto, but even we couldn't escape the Shinigami, although it would seem Kami-sama might have needed us."

Naruto made one last attempt to reject what his heart was refusing to deny, no matter how much his mind was discrediting it. "B-but, I'm just an ordinary, not special kid. I…I-"

This time, Naruto was embraced from behind by the lady now identified as Kushina. "But you are special, Naruto. You are our handsome, well-behaved, most special son we could ever ask for and we both love you very much, 'ttebane." If Naruto could see her face, he would see a look of comfort written all over her face.

As he was embraced by the two people – no, his parents – Naruto felt two things that he could not recall ever feeling in his short lifetime. He felt wanted, and he felt special. All those times he prayed, all those times that he hoped that someone would want him someday, all of it seemed to be tiny compared to the warmth and sincerity he could feel from the man and woman enveloping him now. Naruto did what any child who was overcome with emotion would do. He latched onto his father, and cried out all of his frustration, loneliness, pain and anguish that had plagued him for all of his five years of life. Rather than continuing to coax an answer from him, all Minato and Kushina did was hold him. After pouring his heart out, Naruto fell limp in Minato's arms, the emotional roller coaster taking its toll on the blond child.

For Hiruzen, all he could do was wipe away the few strains of tears that fell down his ancient cheeks. So much had happened in the hour or so that he knew would change Konoha, for better or worse. "Minato, I believe it might be for the best if you and your family sleeps here in one of the tower's bedrooms tonight. The council is convening a meeting tomorrow, so we can introduce and reinstate you to your proper position."

Minato nodded and left with Naruto in his arms and Kushina at his side. He looked down at his son, seeing the content look on his face, which was a contrast to the tear stains he saw earlier. As he and Kushina laid their son down on the bed and got into the bed to sleep – Naruto was in the middle of the two of them – Minato knew that he and Kushina had a long road ahead of them. Just the short introduction to their son showed that Naruto had undergone treatment that might take months, if not years, to fully dissolve, not even including the emotional damage that must be ingrained into his psyche.

'_Rest assured, Naruto. This will be the last night that you will go to sleep feeling worthless.' _With that, Minato Namikaze and his newly reunited family entered the land of dreams.

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**Author's Notes: I will try to make these notes shorter as I am posting two chapters of this today. I appreciate all those that have reviewed thus far and I hope this is to people's liking. By far, this is probably the most I have ever written for any one chapter of any one fic so far in my fan-fictions. These two chapters probably took a total of twelve to fourteen hours to write.**

**I know I will catch grief for the way in which Minato and Kushina have reacted to Naruto's situation, but I really wanted Naruto to grow up in Konoha, not in some other village. More often than not, unless Naruto is going to meet his mom or dad in another village, or he is kidnapped and raised somewhere else, most stories where Naruto joins another village just don't appeal all that much to me. So, they will be staying in Konoha, despite what conventional wisdom may say.**

**As for OC's, I will say this for most of my stories: More often than not, unless I want to use one for later, I will only show OC's once or twice. Mostly, I give names to otherwise nameless characters in order to make things easier to keep track of in conversations – not to mention that constantly calling someone "that person" or "the random enemy," unless it is a massive fight like the Sound/Sand Invasion, looks tacky.**

**There is not really a whole lot to say about this chapter, as it is mostly background on Naruto's history and the reunion of parents and child. Reviews are welcome and I would truly like to see how people will like this one in comparison to my other fics. Until next time, Ja ne!**

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_**Definition:**_

_**Ushi: Bull**_

_**Neko: Cat**_

_**Tora: Tiger**_

_**Kappa: for the purposes of my story, this will mean Turtle.**_

_**Saru: Monkey**_

_**Iwagakure no Sato: Hidden Stone Village**_

_**Tsuchikage: Earth Shadow**_

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Please Read and Review.


	3. Chapter 3: Reinstating a Legend

Prayer of the Jinchūriki

Chapter 3: Reinstating a Legend

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, each character that makes a regular appearance in the manga would have a back story (Tenten, Shino, Kankuro, et cetera).**_

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Naruto had been having a nice dream. He dreamt that his biological parents were the Fourth Hokage and his wife, and that they had come back from the dead just so that they could be a family again. He could almost feel the warmth that had been provided by the double embrace of his mother and father as he had felt so secure. It was like he was in a dream – the kind that give you hope for a better tomorrow, even when everything else seems to fall apart. Of course, he knew that once he woke up it would all disappear because dreams don't come true, because they never did for him. He would wake up back in the orphanage, in his attic with only his usual thoughts of despair and anguish to give him any semblance of consistency. With that in mind, he finally opened his eyes to begin another day of his dreary existence.

The first thing that Naruto noticed when he woke up was that he was not in his room in the attic. In fact, he didn't recognize any of the interior of the room he was in. He was covered up in some fine cotton bed sheets and blankets that felt like they were made for a king. The room was rather plain, all things considered; a simple bed with these sheets and bedding obviously made for luxury and comfort, a lamp stand, and a dresser for clothing was all that filled the interior. The walls appeared to be made of oak wood, and the curtains were colored a forest green. A mat on the floor held the kanji for fire in red on a grey background.

Just as Naruto was getting over his awe in what he could describe as a room for kings, the door opened revealing the people from his dream: the Fourth Hokage and his wife, carrying in some tea and rice bowls. Kushina was wearing a Jōnin uniform, much like Minato's except that the shirt underneath was red instead of blue; Minato was in the same uniform he was in the night before. Naruto pinched himself to make sure that he really was awake. Once it was established that he was, he practically shoved himself out from the bed and went to hug his parents, as if he thought that they would disappear if he didn't physically reassure himself of their existence. Unfortunately, being a child, he underestimated his speed, and managed to knock over Kushina, along with the plate of food that she was carrying. The bowls and tea hit the floor with a resounding crash. Naruto, having previous experience with angry adults in situations like these, did what came naturally; he quickly got off of Kushina's form, bowed in a submissive position with his forehead on the floor, and waited until he was spoken to.

'_Why did I have to screw this up? What kind of people would want a kid that would ruin perfectly good food like that? That was probably their breakfast too. I hope they will still want me after I beg for forgiveness.' _Naruto was extremely nervous; he didn't want to lose his chance at a family because of his blunder. If he had been looking up, he would have seen his father's minute scowl and his mother's befuddled expression.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" His father asked. He didn't sound upset with Naruto at least as far as the young boy could figure out, which confused him since what Naruto did usually was rewarded with yelling and screaming or being shoved into his room with no meals. Naruto, realizing that he hadn't answered the man known to be one of the greatest ninja to ever live, spat out an excuse hoping to pacify the two adults in the room.

"I-I'm awaiting my punishment, Yondaime-sama, Kushina-sama. I ruined your meal, and broke your bowls and things." Naruto kept his head down, waiting to have his meal privileges revoked, or to be locked back into his room at the orphanage for the day.

Kushina, realizing what he was implying, had to keep herself from going down and bringing the whole building that was the Konoha Orphanage down upon the head of whoever was responsible for Naruto's well-being. He had somehow been conditioned to think that he would be punished for something that was an accident. Maternal instincts kicked in and, with some effort on her part, she managed to pull Naruto into her kneeling lap, and held him close.

"It's OK, sochi. It was an accident; no one got hurt, and we have plenty more bowls and cups where those came from. Besides, obviously my awesome ninja skills are a little rusty if I got knocked over and let everything break like that, 'ttebane. We're not mad; we're just glad you're OK…" Kushina trailed off, reassuring Naruto that he did nothing wrong.

Minato, meanwhile, was looking on the scene with concern. It looked like Naruto would need a lot of love and care, which made Minato a little worried. He was worried if he could give Naruto the attention he deserved if he was Hokage; between the paperwork, running the village, and other aspects that came with the title, he knew he would be busy. He shook his head of that line of thought; he would _make _time to be with his son. Naruto deserved nothing less. He knelt down and embraced both Kushina and Naruto.

"Your mom's right, Naruto. What happened was just an accident, nothing more and nothing less. We don't punish kids for accidents, sochi. Now, why don't we all go and get something to eat? I think I know of some people that might be willing to feed a small family of three. Also, it's otou-san and kaa-san, not Yondaime-sama and Kushina-sama; when we are alone like this as a family, you don't need to be so formal. Only when you become a ninja and have to deal with the council or foreign dignitaries do you need to be so formal."

Naruto looked up into his parent's eyes and saw the truth conveyed in them. They were truly not upset with Naruto, which while confusing him since every other experience he had with adults made situations like what just happened his fault. All he could do was continue to cling to his parents and absorb the love that radiated off of them.

Before they could continue to bond further, a knock came on the door. Minato reluctantly left the embrace to open the door, revealing Hiruzen and Kakashi in his ANBU garb.

"I am sorry to bother you Minato, but the meeting will start in a few hours, and I thought it best to get you ready for that. Knowing you, you would want to make an entrance."

Minato looked sadly at his family. He had been looking forward to his first meal as a family, but knew that he needed to take care of this sooner rather than later. He held a silent conversation with Kushina, who seemed to agree that he needed to go with Hiruzen. Minato bent down and looked into his son's confused eyes.

"Don't worry, Naruto. The old man here just wants me to go meet some people to let them know about me and your mom. I promise I will be back for dinner tonight, and we will go and have a meal as a family. I really am sorry about this, buddy. When we get back, we will have a great dinner, just the three of us, OK?"

Naruto nodded his head. He was sad, but he realized that he wasn't being abandoned; his dad just needed to let everyone know he was alive. Minato bid his family farewell and used a transformation technique in order for him to move freely with Hiruzen without being recognized. As the trio left, Minato pulled the two shinobi aside. He whispered a plan into the waiting ears of the aged Sandaime Hokage and ANBU captain for his grand entrance. "Hiruzen, I want the two of us to find where my space-time kunai ended up. Once we find them, I want Kakashi to go in ahead of us with a team, preferably of the same ANBU that saw me last night, and place those kunai underneath the seats in the room. I want to make it undeniable that I am who I say I am, and what better way than to use my signature jutsu?"

Sufficient to say, Kakashi and Hiruzen had smirks on their faces that would do a Cheshire cat proud.

* * *

The meeting hall for the Konoha Council was packed. Ordinarily, the council was made up of the two councilors of the village, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. In addition, when there were high priority meetings, there would be representatives of each clan in Konoha – usually the clan head would attend, but the clan head's spouse, heir or heiress of the clan could fill in for a meeting if necessary - as well as the village elders, headed by Danzō Shimura. The ultimate goal of the Konoha Council was to assist the Hokage in making decisions for the good of the village. Sometimes, the views of the Council clash with the views of the Hokage, which lead to some tension between the Council and the Hokage. Mostly, the council would advise in making decisions that would benefit Konoha in the end, but would use any means necessary to meet that goal, even if the solution to a problem was extreme.

Aside from Danzō, Koharu, and Homura, there were representatives of each major clan: Shibi Aburame for the Aburame clan, Chōza Akimichi for the Akimichi clan since his uncle Torifu Akimichi retired, Shikaku Nara, for the Nara clan, Hiashi Hyūga for his clan, Tsume Inuzuka for her clan, Asuma Sarutobi for his father's clan, Fugaku Uchiha for the Uchiha and Inoichi Yamanaka for the Yamanaka clan. There were no representatives for the Senju, the other founding clan of Konoha, since the last living member of the clan had left the village before the Kyūbi attack. Other ninja from various departments, including the head of the Torture and Interrogation Department, who was currently with an apprentice, as well as various other organizations like the Nijū Shōtai.

The doors of the room opened to reveal Hiruzen Sarutobi and ANBU captain Kakashi Hatake and three other ANBU in tow. Hiruzen was in his full Hokage attire. He seemed to have a mischievous glint in his eyes; the look was similar to what a child might have when they are planning on surprising their parents. He sat in his chair with Homura and Koharu flanking him and Kakashi taking his standard ANBU position on the roof. The room was silent for a moment. Clearing his throat, Hiruzen called the meeting to order.

"Esteemed councilors, proud shinobi, and clan representatives, I call this meeting of the Konoha Council to order. That is, I would like to say that, but there are two problems with that. First, we are missing one important member of this council-"

"Excuse me," Danzō asked. "But who are you referring to, Hokage-sama? Everyone is already here."

"I was getting to that, Danzō-san. As I was saying, first we are missing one individual, and second I no longer hold the power to call these meetings to order."

Everyone gave Hiruzen a confused look. "Hokage-sama, unless I am mistaken, the Hokage always calls these meetings to order. Why are you saying that you no longer have that authority?" Inoichi inquired.

"That is a good question, Inoichi-san. I am saying that I no longer have authority because, as of this morning when I signed it as my last official act as Hokage, I am no longer of the title. The title of Hokage no longer rests with me."

"That is impossible, Hiruzen. Only the Council can elect a new Hokage; you can name a successor, but we must approve of the individual. You do not have the authority."

"True, Homura-san, but I do have the authority to reinstate a former Hokage."

Everyone was about to question the Professor's sanity, until he pulled out a space-time kunai and flung it in the air, channeling chakra into the seal on the handle. In a spectacular and familiar yellow flash, a figure in a white robe caught the kunai in mid-air, spun around, and planted his feet firmly on the ground. The figure stood up, revealing the Yellow Flash of Konoha, Minato Namikaze. The room was quiet enough to hear the minute buzzing of Shibi's insects.

Hiashi and Fugaku immediately activated their dōjutsu to check for any form of transformation or illusion. When none was detected, jaws began to drop. Somehow, standing before some of the most outstanding figures in Konohagakure no Sato was Minato Namikaze! Cheers, crying, and overall outbursts of disbelief and joy flooded the room. Minato couldn't help but smirk; he had expected such a reaction, despite knowing that there were others that exceeded his skills. Minato was aware of his strength, but he also knew there were other individuals that could still beat him, after all he was mortal. In fact, Hiruzen would have given him a run for Minato's money if Hiruzen was in his prime. His musings were interrupted when one loudmouth in charge of Konoha's education system decided to make the mistake of pointing out why Minato was there to begin with.

"Finally! The Yondaime Hokage has come to tell us how to properly dispose of the Nine-Tailed Fox child, so we can be rid of the Fox forever!"

The tension in the air was able to be cut with a katana. Combined with Minato's killing intent, it was enough to silence the room fairly quickly. Someone could have dropped a sebon and it would have been heard. Before Minato could properly inform the man of his mistake, Danzō scolded the man who spoke up.

"You fool. Obviously, Minato-sama has come back to properly show us how to utilize the weapon he created for us."

Several people began nodding their heads and murmuring in agreement; even Minato seemed to agree on the surface. That was, before he disappeared in a yellow flash and reappeared with a kunai stabbing straight through Danzō's trachea from the left-hand side; a look of horror appeared on his face as Minato's scowl was present when he looked to his left. Minato leaned in closer to Danzō to whisper in his ear.

"Rot. In. Hell." With that, Minato kicked over Danzō's lifeless body, blood beginning to pool around him and Minato's space-time kunai in his now bloody hand. "It's ironic that a man so afraid of death died so quickly. ANBU, get this piece of garbage out of my sight."

As the ANBU took Danzō's body, quite a few of the occupants in the room were shocked. Minato may have been a kind individual, but he was also shrewd and could kill in cold blood, something that most people had forgotten after the Third Great Shinobi World War. As Minato took his seat in the Hokage's chair – Hiruzen promptly allowed him into the Hokage's seat after his display– he sat down and faced the rest of the room, pure anger marring his features.

"Let me make one thing abundantly clear; anyone who refers to Naruto Uzumaki as a demon, weapon, or any variation in my presence again will receive the same treatment, village status be damned!" Minato accented his statement by ramming the blade of his space-time kunai into the wooden desk. Everyone had the good sense to keep that in mind. If there was one mistake that a person never wanted to make, it was to upset the Hokage. With someone as dangerous as Minato was, it would be the last mistake you would ever make.

In the minute or two that had passed, Shikaku Nara had been analyzing the way Minato talked about the blond jinchūriki with some interest. He was no fool; there was only one reason Minato would act the way he did where Naruto was concerned. He supposed it should have been obvious from the beginning, but like many men in his clan, he thought at the time it was too troublesome to do anything about it. He smirked as he decided to end the suffocating silence.

"If I may be so bold, Minato-sama, is there a particular reason you are acting particularly defensive over Naruto Uzumaki?"

Minato grinned. He could tell that Shikaku figured things out, and it looked like some others were catching on as well. He figured now was as good a time as any to drop the bomb shell.

"Of course I am defensive, Shikaku-san. After all, what father doesn't want to protect his son?"

If silence was golden, Minato would have been a billionaire by now. The absolute gob-smacked look on each and every face, save for Hiruzen, Shikaku and Kakashi, was priceless. If anyone had already assumed what Minato said was the gospel, they did not show it. The very idea of Minato having a living heir was, to say the least, shocking. They knew that he was in a relationship with Kushina Uzumaki before the attack, as well as her former status as a jinchūriki, but no one apparently wondered if she had conceived or not. Aside from the looks of downright shock, there were some that appeared thoughtful and confused.

One shinobi decided to voice his confusion. "But, Hokage-sama, I thought that the power of the Fox would have destroyed his soul…How can he still be your son if his soul has been corrupted by the Kyūbi?"

Minato gave an incredulous look. Surely, people understood how seals worked, right? Would they honestly believe that Naruto was nothing more than a shell for the Fox? When he saw that some of the shinobi in the room looking around in a similar fashion, Minato realized that no one had considered how the seal worked. Of course it would be too easy to simply explain what was going on, as most people would not be willing to listen. So, being the clever individual that he was, Minato decided a demonstration was in order.

"Neko, would you mind handing me your katana for a moment?" Yūgao appeared next to Minato and promptly handed over her katana. "Kakashi-san, hand me a scroll if you would, please?" Kakashi appeared next with a blank scroll in his hand. Minato then pulled out a brush and ink and began writing on the paper. Those in the room that were beginning to catch on realized he was making a storage seal using the Generic Sealing Technique. Finishing his work, Minato then sealed the katana into the scroll.

"Hiruzen-sama, would you be willing to volunteer yourself for a little demonstration?"

"I would be honored, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen could see what was going on, but he thought that Minato needed to lighten the mood slightly anyway. Hiruzen stood next to Minato, who proceeded to poke and prod the Professor with the scroll. Holding a faux expression of frustration, Minato proceeded to prod harder and even bopped the aged Sarutobi on the head. This rather amusing display proceeded for about five minutes until a few of the shinobi present, namely Fugaku Uchiha, became irritated.

"Is there a point to this obnoxious and childish display, Minato-sama?" Fugaku finally asked. "What exactly is this accomplishing, other than making you look like a fool?"

Minato smiled. "Well, it just seemed odd that this scroll hasn't killed Hiruzen-sama yet. I mean, I sealed the blade into the scroll, but I don't see any cuts or punctures consistent with a blade. "

Realization began to dawn on those who had not figured out the meaning behind Minato's behavior. The answer was staring then straight in the face, and yet no one was willing to acknowledge it before now. Naruto was no more the Kyūbi no Yōko than the scroll was a katana. Mentally, those that thought of Naruto as the shell for the Fox were ashamed, even more so by the revelation that Naruto was their precious leader's son. Of course there were still others who didn't care one way or the other anyway, and those that now had a new reason to hate Naruto, but at least now people were beginning to entertain the idea of Naruto as a person.

"Now that I seem to have cleared up some confusion surrounding my son," Minato began, "I will need to make some things abundantly clear now. How we choose to raise Naruto will be Kushina's and my prerogative as parents; I will only train Naruto to be a ninja if that is what he wants. We will also not be accepting marriage offers right now, so don't bother. Naruto up until now has not had the ability to make his own decisions, and he has a lot to have fixed due to his life in the orphanage. The last thing I need for him right now is to arrange a political marriage with someone he doesn't even know simply because someone wants more power in the village by marrying my son. Finally, I would like to see each and every one of the clan heads tomorrow afternoon. I wish to speak with each and every one of you. Mostly, I want to catch up with my friends, but I also have some private business to discuss. Now, if there is nothing else, I have a family to attend to. Ja ne." And with that, Minato left in a yellow flash.

Inoichi summed up the main thought on everyone's mind. "Well, that will make things fairly interesting around here now."

After the meeting adjourned, Hiruzen tuned towards his contemporary with an amused look as they took a walk. "I appreciate you taking out that pain in the ass, but was killing Danzō really necessary? I am sure that people would appreciate you coming back without having to put the fear of Kami into them."

"Perhaps, Hiruzen, but I wanted to make a point. When I gave my life for this village five years ago, I wanted the people here to do one thing and one thing only: to respect my dying wish. They chose to ignore that. Therefore, if people are not going to respect my wishes as Hokage, then they will respect my wishes as the Yellow Flash if nessessary."

* * *

Minato returned to the tower to see his family. Hiruzen earlier suggested waiting until after the meeting to officially reveal Minato to the public as Hokage, to which Minato agreed to do on the condition that he also introduce Naruto as his son. The public reveal was an interesting affair; a mixture of outrage and shame from the public was evident. Outrage both at the claim that Naruto was Minato's child and that the fact had been hidden from everyone, and shame from some groups at how they treated Naruto. Minato had then gone to retrieve his family for their first meal as a whole. Naruto, not being used to so much attention, clung to his parent's side like a magnet. Kushina and Minato knew it would be difficult for Naruto to get used to the attention, but they would be with him every step of the way.

* * *

Lying underneath the shade of a tree was a forty-three year old man. He was using a gigantic scroll as a pillow and had on a green suit and red vest. His wild white hair, which grew down his back into a long ponytail, was kept out of his eyes by a headband with the kanji for "Oil" on it. This man was none other than Jiraiya the Toad Sage. He was resting on his journey back to report to the Hokage about the recent information he had gathered from his spy network, which was essentially squat as there was nothing to report; hence, why he wasn't returning in a hurry.

His slumber was interrupted when a poof of smoke appeared. The smoke cleared to reveal a green toad with yellow eyes, a cane, white hair complete with a goatee and eyebrows, and a black robe. He was immediately recognized as one of the two Great Toad Sages of Mount Myōboku, Fukasaku.

"Jiraiya-chan, we have a problem."

Jiraiya opened one of his eyes. "I'll say we have a problem, Fukasaku-sensei; you're interrupting my nap…"

Fukasaku, irritated that the Toad Sage was blatantly ignoring him, wacked Jiraiya over the head with his cane. "This is no laughing matter, Jiraiya! Something has happened with the summoning scroll!"

That caught Jiraiya's attention. The Toad Summoning Contract was not something that could easily be manipulated. Unlike other scrolls which could be altered or broken into, the Summoning contract was a document that could only be accessed by someone who already signed the contract. Jiraiya opened up the large scroll he was carrying to assess the situation. Not immediately seeing anything wrong, he turned back to Fukasaku.

"Sensei, if this is some kind of joke-"

"Look at the signatures, boy!"

Jiraiya looked back at the signatures. Most of the names in the scroll were of people who had been able to summon toads in the past. Red signatures indicated a living member of the contract, and black indicated a deceased member. Upon closer inspection, Jiraiya found one name on the contract that was in red that should have been in black.

_Minato Namikaze._

Jiraiya was taken aback. "_There's no way that could be right. Minato died five years ago! How could his name still be in red? Unless…" _

"Sensei, hadn't Minato's name been written in black?"

"That's the problem. We found the name had changed to red rather suddenly, Jiraiya-chan! Someone has either tampered with the scroll, or someone has brought him back to life."

Jiraiya was seeing red. He knew that there were ways to bring back the dead, and if someone had brought Minato back to use against the village, they were in for a rude awakening. Jiraiya thanked Fukasaku, summoned Gamahiro – one of Jiraiya's many toad allies – and made a bee-line for Konoha, intending on bringing down his wrath on whoever dared insult his student's memory.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Here's another chapter of **_**Prayer of the Jinchūriki. **_**I wish to thank everyone that has reviewed thus far and for the input and support you continue to show me. I know this has been a long update coming, but frankly writer's block sucks and I seem to be extremely susceptible.** **Thank you for being understanding.**

**I have received a lot of comments about the pairings for this story, and frankly as of right now I am not solidified on any one idea. I have ideas for what I want to do, but this fic is mostly focused on Naruto's family, so I don't foresee any basis of romance anytime soon. This may also be the first time I experiment with the idea of possibly having more than one girl, but I haven't even decided on what two as of yet. Just be patient and trust that I will come up with something. Also, I am willing to compromise on this to an extent. I mostly like using Hinata in my fics because I am intrigued by her character, hence why I spend most of my time reading NaruHina fics. But, to be fair, most people have indicated that he would be different, so this is my tentative plan: Hinata will be one of the two girls he will end up with if I decide to go with two girls instead of one – sorry Harem fans – but Hinata won't be the main girl. Hopefully, that will keep people placated.**

**As for skills, he will have some ability in sealing, but as that is a rather unusual art and only has so many uses in the field outside of storage, exploding tags, and the like; it won't be a primary skill. He will have a weapon other than kunai and shuriken, but I will reveal that later. He will kinda evolve as he goes along.**

**I will probably receive some flak for killing Danzō so early, but frankly he would be too much of a pain in the ass to get rid of later when he has all those Sharingans in his possession, so I got rid of him. There will be repercussions to his, but he is dead and staying dead. Live with it.**

**As for canon events, I will mostly be following my own path on this one. Especially where stuff like the Uchiha Massacre and other such events are concerned, I will deal with them in a way that I have either never seen before, or there will be some sort of deviation from canon. I will just do what I will think work best. After all, with Minato being alive, I have a feeling that he would handle things differently.**

**Finally, I want to address something that I want to point out right now: Naruto will be different, but that doesn't mean he will stay the way he is personality-wise indefinitely. He will be a hell of a lot more calm than he is in canon, and there will be times where he is a little more insecure, but he will have some confidence in himself – not as much as he does in canon but still a bit – by the time he graduates. Frankly, I don't want him to be like he is now if his family is trying to support him; it just wouldn't make sense to me. You will see how that works next time. **

**I will try to update my stories when I can, but I am also going to be undertaking a challenge for thymisticles, and I will simply write when I am able. Until then, Ja ne!**

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_**Definitions:**_

_**Nijū Shōtai: Twenty Platoons**_

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Please Read and Review.


	4. UPDATE: I'm not deadyet

Important Update: I'm not dead…yet….

Hey everyone:

So, as the title suggests, I'm not dead yet. I know it has been a while since I have updated or uploaded anything to , and there is a reason for that; a few reasons, in fact.

First, my computer died completely on me back in November. It was for all intents and purposes bricked, meaning I couldn't even turn the thing on. In addition, I did not have the means of replacing my computer until last month, meaning I haven't had the means to access most of my files.

My other major reason for not updating in so long has been that I have been working hard through my last full year of college. From September onwards, my butt has been handed to me on a silver platter, and I have not had the desire or the time to focus on my stories. Even right now, I have a full load involving a grant writing course and other courses to fill out my major. I even have an internship and online classes I am setting up this summer just so I can graduate this year! As a result, my free time has been rather limited.

There are of course other more personal reasons for my absence – I would say more, but even with the anonymity of I would not feel comfortable discussing it all – but I think most of my readers could get the gist of what I am saying.

The important thing is, I will be returning to writing eventually, but for right now finishing my college career is going to take precedence. I might be able to start updating again after about June or July, but I make no promises until then. I am still trying to decide what to do with the stories I have, and changes could be coming soon to at least one of them. Until I can set aside some time to plan things out, I will still be silent for the most part on my end. I am not holding my stories for ransom for views or abandoning anything at the moment – I know how frustrating that can be – I am just prioritizing my life on more immediate concerns.

All I ask for is some more patience as I try to balance this busy time of my life. I will hopefully have new chapters for all three of my stories by the time I get back to writing. Enjoy writing and reading, guys.

Notgonnasay09


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